Peter Burke
Paperback, 336 pages
9780300276503

A rich, wide-ranging history of ignorance in all its forms, from antiquity to the present day

Throughout history, every age has thought of itself as more knowledgeable than the last. Renaissance humanists viewed the Middle Ages as an era of darkness, Enlightenment thinkers tried to sweep superstition away with reason, the modern welfare state sought to slay the giant of ignorance, and in todays hyperconnected world seemingly limitless information is available on demand. But what about the knowledge lost over the centuries? Are we really any less ignorant than our ancestors?

In this highly original account, Peter Burke examines the long history of humanitys ignorance across religion and science, war and politics, business and catastrophes. Burke reveals remarkable stories of the many forms of ignorancegenuine or feigned, conscious and unconsciousfrom the wilful politicians who redrew Europes borders in 1919 to the politics of whistleblowing and climate change denial. The result is a lively exploration of human knowledge across the ages, and the importance of recognising its limits.